User:MarcelaOrdonez/final article

These are my recommendations for revising the article Eco-efficiency

• I added to the history section to make it more neutral by showing a bit of both sides
• Added more examples of Eco-efficiency

Copied content from Eco-efficiency see that pages history for attributions

History

Although eco-efficiency is a rather new method, the idea is not. In the early 1970s Paul R. Ehrlich and John Holdren developed the lettering formula I = PAT to describe the impact of human activity on the environment. Furthermore, the concept of eco-efficiency was first described by McIntyre and Thornton in 1978, but it wasn't until 1992, when the term was formally coined and widely publicized by Stephan Schmidheiny in Changing Course. Schmidheiny set out "to change the perception of industry as being part of the problem of environmental degradation to the reality of its becoming part—a key part—of the solution for sustainability and global development." The major drivers in the early phase of eco-efficiency's development were the "forward-looking managers and thinkers in 3M and Dow." It was their involvement which catapulted eco-efficiency from an idea to a workable concept. The results of the WBCSD's work creating the "linkage between environmental performance and the bottom line was published in 1997 in its report Environmental Performance and Shareholder Value." Yet at the same time some scientists in the 1990s and 1980s argued that eco-efficiency was not a sustainable solution. They saw that eco- efficiency would create would create more problems due to the many uncertainties that creates. Some scientists in the 1990s also believed that without proper knowledge of local eco systems eco- efficiency would fail.

Examples

Examples of eco- efficiency

• Reducing the unnecessary use of pesticide in agriculture to increase environmental stability.

• Providing consumers with eco- efficient services such as utility services or product pooling

• Mining companies creating solutions to lower the consumption of natural resources

Furthermore, eco-efficiency is also a very useful tool because it can adapt and flex to be fit different sizes of companies, while also maintaining relevance with the larger scale of government and national policies. For example, larger national players such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD 2002), European Commission (EU 2005), European Environment Agency (EEA) and the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) have all recognized that eco-efficiency is a practical approach that businesses should adopt in setting and achieving their environmental performance objectives. It has been proven to heighten market values for firms, serve as an effective management tool for governments, benefit civil society, and increase quality of life. "It does this by changing industrial processes, creating new products and changing and influencing markets with new ideas and with new rules." More people aim to get more value for their money in the market, while also enjoying a better environment.

Recently, there has also been use of eco-efficiency in more non-traditional ways, such as a use in banks to integrate environmental criteria into their credit-approval process; looking at "eco-integrated economic risks of a customer." And is also being implemented as marketing advantages where, "eco-efficient choices are always preferred," especially in service sectors such as tourism.